SIR EDWARD COLEY BURNE-JONES A.R.A. (BRITISH 1833-1898)

SIR EDWARD COLEY BURNE-JONES A.R.A. (BRITISH 1833-1898) STUDY OF A KNEELING LADY IN CLASSICAL DRESS Signed with initials, chalk on sanguine paper (30cm x 22cm (11.75in x 8.75in)) Note: Burne-Jones began making chalk drawings on coloured paper in the mid 1860s to explore and define the effect of light on the draped figure. At that time he used brown paper but a characteristic of the later 1880s onwards was his preferred use of red paper. The present drawing of the kneeling maiden shielding her eyes dates from c1888. The heavier drapery he chose in this later period produced simpler folds that suited the more solemn mood of his later work and the lines he used to describe the underlying anatomy of his models. As yet the identification of this drawing has proved impossible and it may have been associated with a stained glass commission which was not carried out. Also it was not unusual for Burne-Jones to occupy himself with studies for projects that were not realised, his imagination far outweighed their practicable execution even with a number of studio assistants. We are grateful to The Burne-Jones Catalogue Raisonné Foundation for their assistance in the cataloguing and note for this lot